The Day Of The Lord

What sorrow awaits you who say,

“If only the day of the LORD were here!”

You have no idea what you are wishing for.

That day will bring darkness, not light. Amos 5:18

SOMETIMES IT SEEMS like we spend a lot of our lives focused on a day in the future. As we were growing up, we looked forward to that last day of school that would launch us into a season of fun and freedom. Now as parents we often count down to the day when school will start again! But there are also days to come that we dread.

There is a day spoken of throughout Scripture —a day of divine intervention in human history called “the Day of the Lord,” or sometimes simply “the day” or “that day.” It is described as a day when burdens will be lifted, honor bestowed, salvation accomplished, redemption completed, abundance enjoyed, satisfaction made full, and healing made plentiful. It sounds like a day to long for. And it is. But this is not all that the Bible tells us about that day.

We also discover in the Scriptures that the Day of the Lord will be a day of humiliation, destruction, cruelty, doom, darkness, retribution, distress, anguish, and ruin. When we read these descriptions, this day seems like one to dread. So which is it? Will the Day of the Lord —the day that Christ returns —be a day of mourning or a day of joy? Will it be a day of incredible loss or a day of indescribable gain?

The reality is that it will be both. Those who have feared the Lord by believing his gospel and who are joined to Christ by faith can wake up every morning wondering, with an eager heart, if this will be the day God will intervene in human history. But those who have rejected God’s offer of mercy and ignored his gracious invitation into the safety of his fold should wake up every day thinking about his coming with a sense of sickening fear.

Lord, as we anticipate the day —your day, when you come to punish and put away evil and set all things right in your world —we long for it to be filled with joy and victory for everyone in our family. We long to experience the glory of your coming side by side with ________. Fill us all with glad anticipation for your day.